A Light at the End of the Tunnel
by peanutbutterpickle22
Summary: What if Maya had found Cam? Much Love! peanutbutterpickle22


**A/N: **Hey everyone. Sorry if you read my other fan fiction, but I need a break from that for a little. I'm kinda super messed up about the last episode of Degrassi. I love you Cam :'(. But anyways, I think we all need a little bit of hope and happy endings after Campbell's unfortunate end. So I've written this one shot as a sort of alternative to what should have happened in this episode. It starts out a little dark and depressing, but I promise it gets better. Hope y'all like it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Degrassi. But let me tell you, I wish I owned Dylan Everett…he is definitely easy on the eyes, if you know what I'm saying.

**Author POV**

_You're a psycho_

Cut.

_If you cared about her at all, then you'd get out of her life now…forever._

Cut.

_Get your head on, man_

Cut.

The words of the past few days rush through Campbell Saunders's mind. How did he manage to mess it all up already? He has a hockey skate in one hand, his other arm extended, blood dripping off his fingertips. But it isn't helping. Every cut only reminds him how much of a screw up he really is. He needs something stronger. Something that will wipe away all the pain. Something to end it all.

_I'm tired…I just wish I could go to sleep and never wake up_

Cut…wait.

_Never wake up…_

Perfect. Death. But…Maya. She won't care. Zig will tell her how much of a psycho he was.

_Was. _

After today, he will cease to be. It's the only solution. The only way to save Maya, and to end all the pain. All he's ever done is mess everything up. Him dying would be the only way to make sure that everyone would be happy again. Dallas was right. His head really isn't screwed on straight.

He looks up. He's sitting in the locker room. His phone vibrates. Maya. His mood lifts a bit just seeing her name. But not enough.

**To: Cheesy ;) **

**From: M ;)**

**Where are u, cheesy?**

A tear slips out of his eye and falls down his cheek. He totally forgot about Hoot. He pulls the stuffed owl out of his pocket, and hugs it close to his chest.

**To: M ;)**

**From: Cheesy ;)**

**I'm not coming. Sorry. It's over. **

He makes sure to make it quick and simple. He can't let Maya thinking he's only joking. He knows she'll be upset, but it's for the best. He looks at Hoot again…maybe he should stay…no. His mind is made up.

He looks at his surroundings. A rope. Perfect. He grabs the rope and makes a noose.

Where?

The greenhouse. Everyone is in school, no one will be there. Of course. So he walks to the greenhouse. His mind is distraught. He has the rope in one hand and Hoot in the other. He walks into the greenhouse and ties the rope to the ceiling. Then he sits and types a note in his iPhone. If anyone checks his phone, he wants to make sure they all know exactly why he left the earth. So it never happens to anyone again. So they all realize what they did.

Maya sits on the steps. Something is wrong. She sees the two Happy Meals, and knows that Cam was there. Something must have happened. He wouldn't break up with her for no reason…right?

The bell rings. She can't go to class. Not yet. The front door to the school opens, and Zig walks out. Great. Zig. Exactly the person she doesn't want to see.

"Maya, hey!" Zig says, and then walks over to her, sitting on the steps next to her.

"Hey Zig…have you seen Cam?" She asked him…but he probably doesn't know anything.

"Yeah, he was here a little bit ago waiting for you…he must have left," Zig said, his eyes shifting any place but at Maya. He knows something.

"What did you do?" Maya asks him, straight up. He's not avoiding her questions this time.

"I didn't do anything!" Zig defends himself. Maya only raises an eyebrow in his direction, and he knows she doesn't buy it. "Well…I may have said something…" He confesses.

"What did you say Zig?"Maya pushes.

"I may have told him that he's a psycho…" Maya gasps at him, "Oh now, there's more…I kinda told him that, if he cares about you…he should get out of your life…forever."

Maya filled with rage as she processed what Zig was saying. Before she knew what she was doing, she had extended her arm and slapped Zig's cheek.

"Haven't I been beat up enough for one day?!" Zig shouted out, recoiling from the pain on his cheek.

"Evidently not! I can't believe you would say something so insensitive! He obviously has anxiety issues, and you would just say something like that?! There's no telling what he'll do now!" Maya began panicking, pacing back and forth in front of the school.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'anxiety issues'?" Zig asked, confused.

"You didn't know?" Maya asked him. He shook his head. "Cam has some anxiety issues because of homesickness and all the pressure from hockey. He just told me the other night. He didn't want me to be freaked out, but that's why he got so mad at you! This is bad, this is really bad." Maya freaked out some more.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea…" Zig held his head in his hands, "I screwed everything up…"

Maya continued to pace. Then she stopped suddenly.

"Cam…" she had a realization. She immediately picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Come on Cam, pick up…please," she begs out loud. He has to answer. He has to be okay.

"Hey, it's Cam. Sorry, I can't get to the phone right now, but if you've got something to say, leave me a message. I'll try to call you back if I can."

Dang it. Voicemail.

"No, no, no. Cam, please," she whispers into the phone. It beeps, "Hey Cam, it's Maya. Please call me back if you get this…it's really important."

She hung up the phone and continued her pacing.

"Okay…the only way we can fix this is by finding him…" she looked at Zig, sitting on the steps with his head in his hands, "Zig! We have to find him!"

"Uh…right…we," He looked up from the ground, "And where exactly might he be?"

"I don't know! He could be anywhere! I'll search outside around here…please, please, please go check the hockey rink and anywhere inside there," she begged him. Then she ran off around the school.

Where could Cam possibly be? She looked everywhere she could think of. Then she came to the greenhouse. She could see something red in the air through the glass. Oh no.

"Oh no…oh no, oh no, oh no," she sprinted to the garden, "Cam!"

He was hanging from the ceiling. Tears began falling from her face the moment she saw him. He had Hoot clutched tightly to his chest.

"Cam! Please wake up, please be okay!" she begged him, while trying to get him out of his noose. She put some crates under his feet so some weight was lifted from the rope around his neck. Then she stood on them as well, finally loosening the rope. He can't be dead. He can't be.

Suddenly, his eyes flickered open a bit.

"Cam…Cam!" Maya shouted, noticing his eyes opening.

"Maya?" Cam said quietly, with the little amount of energy he had.

"Cam! You're okay!" she sat on the ground, holding him close to her and crying.

"No Maya, get away from me. I'm just going to mess up your life even more. You're not safe with me," Cam told her. A tear rolled down his face, and this only made Maya cry harder.

"Cam, you're not a psycho. You're the sweetest guy I've ever met. You need to talk to someone about this. Suicide isn't the answer," Maya pleaded with him.

"Yes it is Maya. I can't hurt you. I would never be able to live with myself if I did. This is the only way," Cam said to her. She cried harder.

"The only way you could possibly hurt me is if you go through with this. Promise me you'll see someone about this, please Cam?" Maya pleaded some more. Cam gave in.

"I promise Maya," She smiled at him and cuddled closer to him. He put his arms around her waist and held her there. She grabbed her phone and called 911, and Zig. She didn't tell him what had happened, just that she had found Cam.

By the time the ambulances got there, Cam was out cold. He was completely unconscious, having so little blood in his head. The ambulance took him away and Maya went with him. She wasn't going to leave his side until he got better. There is no chance.

One week later and Cam was finally getting out of the hospital. But it had seemed like an eternity to Maya. Her parents wouldn't let her stay at the hospital all the time, as she had to go to school. But finally, it was Monday again, and he would be getting out.

As soon as school had gotten out for the day, she and her sister rushed over to the hospital. She got there just in time, as she saw Cam standing outside the hospital with his billet parents and talking to a nurse. He was looking out at the parking lot, as if he was searching for something. When his eyes met Maya's, he had found what he was looking for and she rushed forward towards him. He held out his arms and she jumped into his embrace. He spun her around and she giggled.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered into his ear, "never scare me like that again."

"I'm so glad you stopped me. I can't stand the idea of upsetting you," Cam whispered back to her.

"Mr. Saunders," the nurse said, interrupting their moment, "your billet parents and I have arranged for you to see a therapist every week from now on. We want to prevent this from ever happening again, alright?"

He nodded and grabbed Maya's hand. His mind had finally relaxed, and he had no idea how he could have possibly thought of doing such a thing before. He decided that no matter how tough things got in school, he could always go to Maya if he needed her. And as long as he had Maya, he would be happy. No matter what.

**A/N: **So yeah, that's it. I think this would have been a better ending to the episode. Or something along these lines. I don't think it was fair to kill him off after only 17 episodes. Especially with such a loved character! I think they should have had him fight it for a little while. I realize they really wanted to cover the topic of suicide, but I think they should have had it be with a longer standing character. But even so, if he had attempted but not succeeded, it still would've been a good cover of suicide. Probably better, to see how he deals with it afterwards. Sorry, I'm babbling. R&R please!

~~ In memory of Campbell Saunders. You will always be a part of the Degrassi family in our minds~~


End file.
